Messages that are received in Outlook 98 from Outlook Express 5 may contain unrelated characters

When you open certain incoming e-mail messages, you may see a blank message or you see the following three characters displayed instead of the message text: In some cases, depending on the Internet e-mail software that is used on the sending or receiving end, the message may contain other random, unrelated characters, or the message body may be blank.

This behavior occurs when the following conditions are true:

• The message is created by using Microsoft Outlook Express 5.
• The message is a reply and is sent in HTML format.
• The message does not use the Include message in reply option.

To work around this behavior, use one of the following methods:

• Ask the sender to send you e-mail messages that are formatted in Plain Text instead of HTML.
• Ask the sender to include original messages in his or her replies.

The following procedures define settings in Outlook Express to avoid the behavior that is described in the "Symptoms" section.

Send in Plain Text to specified contacts

1. In Outlook Express, on the Tools menu, click Address Book.
2. Right-click a contact you always want to send messages to in Plain Text.
3. On the shortcut menu, click Properties.
4. On the Name tab, click to select Send E-Mail using plain text only, and then click OK.

Send in Plain Text to all contacts

1. In Outlook Express, on the Tools menu, click Options.
2. On the Send tab, click to select Plain Text under Mail Sending Format, and then click OK.

Include original message text in replies

1. In Outlook Express, on the Tools menu, click Options.
2. On the Send tab, click to select Include message in reply, and then click OK.